After giving stellar performances in two of 2015’s biggest blockbusters — Wrong No and Jawani Phir Nahi Ani (JPNA) — Sohai Ali Abro turned into a ‘sensation’ overnight, clinching a place next only to Mahira Khan and Mehwish Hayat.
But then suddenly things changed. The makers of JPNA, who couldn’t stop praising Abro’s screen presence, didn’t sign her on for the superhit film’s sequel. Ditto for Wrong No’s director Yasir Nawaz who didn’t repeat the young TV actress he had famously introduced in films, in his next (Mehrunisa V Lub U).
Abro returned to the small screen, and was seen in a couple of forgettable drama serials such as Kaisi Yeh Paheli. While there were people who blamed her ‘downfall’ on her starry shenanigans, others said she had gotten busy ‘elsewhere’. Whatever the reason might be, the fact remains that Abro would have added value to JPNA 2. In the franchise’s first part, she had pulled off the role of a pouty and selfie-crazed coquette with immense confidence.
For a woman who had been relegated to playing the weeping willow in most TV dramas, Abro was noticed big-time for her comic timing and a sexy avatar, not to mention her dancing skills. In fact, her performance was compared to that of Bollywood diva Kareena Kapoor in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.
2018 might help Abro regain her lost glory, as she prepares to step into the strong shoes of Zenith Irfan, the first female Pakistani who travelled the country riding her bike, in the biopic aptly titled Motorcycle Girl. It’s said to be the screen role of a lifetime. And, Abro knows that fact, already started preparing for it by taking intensive driving lessons.
The movie is directed by musician turned filmmaker Adnan Sarwar whose last venture, Shah, was also a biographical account of boxer Hussain Shah from Karachi’s slum area who rises to become an Olympian gold medallist. Based on a shoestring budget, the film had got a favourable nod from the audiences as well as critics. Will Sarwar be able to repeat the success of his debut film? Only time will tell.
